Papertrey Ink's Make it Monday #283

Hello there!  I have a few cards made for the Papertrey Ink Make it Monday Challenge #283 this week which features a Watercolor Wash Background. Laurie Schmidlin did her first Make It Monday Video since joining the Design Team at Papertrey Ink.  You can see her video tutorial here.

I've done this technique before, but it's been a while and I had forgotten how much I enjoyed seeing the end result of the watercolor part.  Especially since I like to add in a "twist" by using gold watercolor from my Finetec Palette once the color is at least partially dry from the first round.  This makes some pools in the watercolor and gives you some hard edges on the watercolor paper which resembles veins like you might see in marble.  It's really a nice option if you like to use gold, which you know I do.

I'm not going to spend a lot of time here telling you how I created these backgrounds because you can pop over to the Papertrey Ink Blog and watch for yourself.  I used my Kuretake Gansai Tambi Watercolors in #42 Yellow and #34 Dark Pink Watercolors as well as Arabic Gold from the Finetec Gold Palette for this first one and Yellow and Red for the other one. I first learned this technique from Jennifer McGuire but it's been well over a year since I have used it, so it was good to use some supplies that sit on my desk all the time but only get used occasionally.

I used Arches Hot Pressed Watercolor Paper for the cream colored background and Fabriano Artistico Extra White Watercolor Paper for the whiter background. While the Canson Bristol is my favorite for water coloring floral images, it doesn't really hold up to the amount of water you need to create watercolor washes so I have other types around for just this reason. And for the amount of water it will hold and stay smooth, Arches Hot Pressed is my favorite.  I wish they had a whiter brighter paper but I've not seen one so far.

I love how the pink one came out and it is my favorite.  After I trimmed down my panel with a stitched rectangle, I lost one of those veins that I like so much but there is still one left that is really visible. Since we are attending a wedding in Texas this weekend and I have been working on a scrapbook album for the bride, I have lots of love themed things still laying on my desk.  I thought that I would make a card to tuck into the album so I die cut the Love Text Block from Gold Paper to match my Gold Watercolor.  Since the text block has a lot of open space, it was the perfect fit to show off the watercolor wash in the background.

My husband's favorite color is Orange, so I am planning to give this one to him at the start of our "Weekend Adventure".  Traveling anywhere with him is always an adventure and not always one that is fun. Sometimes I just want to get there without the adventure but I'm trying to be a good sport about this one because we have plenty of time to get there.  So, a little side adventure won't be any big deal.

Thank you so much for stopping by to see my cards for this week's Make It Monday Challenge. Have a great weekend everyone!

A Few Floral Favorites from 2016

Hello Everyone!  I am here today with a blog post that highlights some of my favorite cards from this year (2016). For most of these, I can even tell you who I sent it to. This first card was sent to my sweet friend, Amanda who endured 20 months of Chemo and 4 surgeries (her final one was yesterday) so she could battle Breast Cancer.  She has been so valiant in those efforts!   In 2015, my husband and I traveled the entire southeast portion of the United States and that included stopping in Charlotte, NC to see Amanda. It's an experience that did and continues to touch my heart.  This card is made with supplies that are primarily from Papertrey Ink (Cover Plate Twist) with the exception of the leaves which are a My Favorite Things die. 

This card was sent to Amanda as well although at a later time.  She told me she actually fell asleep with this card the day she got it and when she woke, it was under her pillow.  It was a simple card, but it turned out so well. I love the little Chickadee and this one from WPLUS9's Clear Day Stamp Set is a favorite.  I don't want to send the same style of card to the same person over and over, so part of what I do is dreaming up something new and different. The thing about handmade cards is that each one is different, even when you are using the exact same supplies.  

For the next card, I was experimenting with my Kuretake Zig Gansai Tambi Watercolors and Finetec Metallic Gold Watercolors to make this gorgeous watercolored card for one of my sisters-in-law. This is another WPLUS9 Stamp set called Lucky Stars. 

The next card in my line-up features my favorite flowering tree, the Dogwood. This is a wood block stamp from Impression Obsession that I have had for a number of years (10+).  This was the first time I had used it. I love the Legend of the Dogwood and how it relates to Christianity.

I confess, I haven't yet mailed this card to anyone.  I didn't finish it until after Easter so it is waiting for Easter 2017 to be sent out. The die cut "Easter" is from Simon Says Stamp.  

Next up is a card I created using Altenew's Persian Motifs Stamp Set and Graceful Greetings from Papertrey Ink.  Since I started making cards, I have learned that I have several favorite colors besides pink; aqua, teal, sugarplum, coral, etc.  I also love heat embossing and gold embossing powder. My favorite gold embossing powder is Simon Says Stamp Antique Gold Embossing Powder.  I painted this using Nicholson's Peerless Watercolors with some Perfect Pearls Pigment Powder in the water.  

My next card features another Altenew Stamp Set called Beautiful Day.  There are Beautiful Day Coordinating Dies for this set which I also used.  In addition I used the love die from the Hero Arts Love Stamp and Cut. My daughter loved this card, so I sent it to her.

Next in the lineup is a card I sent to a Canadian friend and uses the Papertrey Ink Hands of Time Stamp Set with WOW! Metallic Gold Sparkle Embossing Powder; another favorite! I love ink blending and I used that technique for this card.  The Awesome Die is from Waffle Flower Crafts and the little hearts are from a Simon Says Stamp Die called Mini Hearts Set.  

This next card uses Papertrey Ink's Tulip Time Stamp Set and Tulip Time Coordinating Dies. This card was made for my friend Yana and I wanted to send her something that she wouldn't make herself. It uses a "go to formula" that Yana shared on her blog along with papers from Papertrey Ink (Berry Sorbet) and even a paper called Sea Glass that is from Creative Memories. Creative Memories papers aren't normally suitable for card making, but since this is only a mat layer, it was fine. Yana does a lot of how to videos on her blog and I wanted to thank her for sharing her knowledge and expertise with all of us card makers and crafters. As you can see, I love these Tulips and I used them many times over the course of the year. I'm looking forward to using them again in 2017.  

Another 2016 favorite is the Altenew Beautiful Day Stamp and Coordinating Die Set.  I used it for every kind of card but my favorite was to wish someone a really nice day or a Thinking of You type card. It is always so nice to get a card in the mail from a friend who lets you know they are thinking of you, especially for no particular reason. The "Perfect" Die is another from Waffle Flower Crafts.  Even though I used the same basic supplies, each card has a different look. I love it when I can mix and match supplies from all different manufacturers to create the perfect card for the person I am sending it to. 
These are just a few of my favorite floral cards from 2016.  There are many others. Beautiful Day and Tulip Time were my most used stamp sets in 2016 for good reason.  They are incredibly beautiful and the coordinating dies make them just that much more stunning on your finished project.

I'd love to hear about your favorites from the year.  I barely made it into Spring with this post so I'm thinking next year I need to break my favorites into about 3 posts during the last week of the year.  Some of the Christmas cards I made were also among my favorites for the year, but I've been sick this week, so I never got to it.

I have several fun projects coming up this month as I am the Designer in the Spotlight for the Simon Says Wednesday Challenge every Wednesday in January. I hope you'll stop by to see my project each week.

I'm wishing you all the happiest possible New Year in 2017!  Stay safe and make sure you carve out some crafty time int he new year as well.

Use Some Lucky Stars

I'm popping on here with a really quick card today for the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge for this week which is "Use Some Lucky Stars".  I started this card by cutting a 4.25 x 5.5 inch panel of watercolor paper and water colored it using my Gansai Tambi Watercolors in #58 - Evergreen, #55 - Green, & #90 - Gold.  I wet the entire surface of the paper with water. Then I "dabbed" paint on it first in the evergreen and then in the green.  I spritzed the whole thing lightly with water after applying the color and just let the water and color move however it wanted. I had taped it to my small cutting board, so I could set it aside to dry and do some other things for a little while.

Once all of the green was dry I dabbed more paint on in a random pattern with the gold paint.  This time, I didn't add any water, but just let the paint settle where it wanted to. When dry, this gives you a fantastic marbled looking background which is great for a Clean & Simple (CAS) Card.  Since I also wanted to play over at the CAS Mix Up, it was important to me to keep it to a single layer.

Next I stamped my greeting and the moon and star from the WPLUS9 Lucky Stars Stamp Set using Versamark and heat embossed it with Ranger Gold Tinsel Embossing Powder.  I love the sparkle this adds to any card. I cut several stars from the Simon Says Stamp Large Holiday Hearts and Stars Die from scraps of gold foil card stock.  Using a Versamarker, I added a few dots with WOW! Platinum Sparkle Embossing Powder to give the appearance of some larger stars. For my final touch on the background panel I misted it with a light mist of glycerin water and then took a pinch of Iridescent Sparkle Embossing Powder and sprinkled it on the card front & heat set it.  It gives a beautiful sheer sparkle imitating a starry night sky.  Unfortunately I was not able to capture than in the photograph.  Still, it makes for a very pretty card.

I die cut the panel with the largest Simon Says Stamp Stitched Rectangle then adhered it to a Bermuda Bay top folding card base.  Single layer cards are by far the easiest to mail and don't require extra postage or hand cancelling.  My best friend loves green so this is going out in tomorrow's mail for her!

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I really appreciate it when you take time to comment.  Have a great rest of the weekend.